Various - Cocktail (Recordings of Substance)

This is the first compilation from the drill & bass-oriented Recordings of Substance label (what appears to be an off-shoot of Hydrogen Dukebox). Here you'll find twelve quite varied tracks, some of which are vital 1998 listening although others are best avoided. Magnetic offer a prime example of how this high-speed beats style of drum & bass works in practice. But this serves as merely a warm-up for the awesome random assault of Icarus' 'Moon Palace'. This one merges split-second kitsch theme snippets with wobbling sub-bass anthems. It's also worth pointing out that Icarus are planning a tour of building sites. I hope this isn't just PR smoke as this is actually quite a cool idea!

Elsewhere, the T Power Mix of 'Theo Steps In' by James Hardway will play very strange tricks with your head, thanks to some wicked stereo phasing synth effects (which sound awesome on headphones and would be equally brilliant through a sound system). The James Hardway sound may be new (and somewhat trendy) but it certainly needs some refining. His jazz jungle 'Illustrated Man' is fine but his remix of Omnivore's 'Spandex' goes nowhere fast. Nostramus are the other main stand-out act on Recordings of Substance. 'Babel (Hoax Mix)' is right up my street: atmospheric and driving, make that pounding, at the same time. Even madder is their other track, the appropriately titled 'Let's Fuck It Up'.

Final thought: I hope there's a vinyl version of this album out there as most of this is very DJ-friendly. Check the Witchman Mix of 'Earth Light' by Nostramus and you should hear what I mean. 6/10


This review also published in: DJ magazine